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The UK’s sanctions enforcement body intends to issue penalties against companies which have had unlawful dealings with Iran, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Calling the plans ‘a warning shot to banks and other financial services firms,’ the FT cited a ‘rare interview’ with Giles Thomson, the head of the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. ‘In recent months, Iran sanctions have expanded in scope,’ Thomson told the FT, ‘and we’re also increasingly looking at where there might be enforcement action we might want to take there.’ However, he said Russia is still OFSI’s ‘number one priority’. Thomson also said that ‘in the next few months’ he expects the maximum penalty to increase to £2 million or 100% of the breach value, from the current limit of either £1 million or 50% of the breach value. The FT noted that OFSI has been working closely with the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, and is focused on clamping down on the use of cryptocurrencies to avoid sanctions. Furthermore, Thomson told it that OFSI is close to seconding someone to the Bank of England for the first time. ‘We’ve got way more cases than we could ever hope to do,’ he commented. ‘So we have to prioritise and look at ways that we think will have most impact and are best in the public interest.’ Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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